Simmons hoping to represent Australia in 2020 Olympics
PHILADELPHIA » Rapidly on his way to significant status among the better players in the NBA, Ben Simmons already has that distinction in his home nation.
For that, look for him in Tokyo in the summer of 2020 playing basketball in the Olympics for Australia.
“If it goes the right way,” Simmons said Friday, before the Sixers’ game against the Indiana Pacers, “hopefully, I will.”
Healthy after a year off last season with a broken foot, things have been going well for Simmons, who through his first eight games has rung up early-career triple-double totals previously established only by Oscar Robertson. With that, he has become a nightly focus of national, and occasionally international, attention.
“I definitely know I get a lot of support from Australia,” Simmons said. “Whenever I am playing, I am playing for my family, my team and Australia. That means a lot.”
In a recent interview with the Australian press, Kobe Bryant was found to describe Simmons as phenomenal.
“That’s awesome to hear,” Simmons said. “From one of the greatest ever to play, that means a lot. So I’ve got a long way to go. So, I’ll stay in the gym.”
Simmons has stayed in the Sixers’ starting lineup, first as part of a three-guard configuration, more recently in a standard two-guard set. He’s comfortable either way.
“Whatever works,” he said. “Whatever gets us the win, I don’t mind.”
Brett Brown previously coached the Australian Olympic team. He will not coach it in 2020. By then, who knows how much faster the Simmons hype machine will be spinning?
“I got a lot at LSU,” Simmons said. “But it is coming back to where it was. It’s amazing.”
*** As part of the Sixers’ Military Appreciation Night Friday, Marine Sergeant Jason Simms of Swarthmore was the ceremonial pre-game bell-ringer.
Each game, the Sixers have a notable figure ring a replica of the Liberty Bell near midcourt.
Simms was the winner of the American Hero of the Year Award in 2013. He was critically wounded in Iraq in 2004, suffering major burns to his hands and losing a finger.
A lifelong Philadelphia sports fan, Simms was better able to make it through therapy in a Houston burn hospital by following his hometown teams.
“I was very happy to get the call to do this,” Simms said, as he prepared to ring the bell. “I am a big Sixers fan.”
Simms, 39, graduated from Haverford High. He said he suffers from PTSD and nerve damage, and points out that a beard covers a scar on his face from where the strap on his helmet melted into his skin.
“Overall, I’m all right,” he said. “I get by. Sports has always been my go-to.”
*** Recovered from a broken wrist, Richaun Holmes was active for the first time this season Friday.
“I’ve been waiting for a while,” he said. “I put in a lot of work this summer. I am ready. I can’t wait. My wrist feels great.”
With Joel Embiid and Amir Johnson commanding five-spot minutes, and with Dario Saric occasionally manning the position when Brown goes small, Holmes understood there would be a depth-chart traffic jam.
“It is something for Coach to figure out,” Holmes said. “I am just happy to have my name called in general.”
*** NOTES » The Sixers will next play Tuesday in Utah, in the first of a five-game trip to Sacramento, Golden State and L.A., where they will play the Lakers and Clippers. They’ll return home Nov. 18 to host the Warriors. ... Alex Poythress had a brief Sixers career, playing in six games late last season, starting one. He has resurfaced with the Pacers on a two-way contract. “Everything is going good,” Poythress said. “It was good to see everybody, all the coaches, old teammates.”